Run Castle Ravenloft as a One Shot Adventure

Castle Ravenloft is among the most famous of all DnD adventures. And for a lot of people, if you want to get this classic dungeon under your belt, running the castle as a one shot adventure is going to be the best option. So, here is my way to run Ravenloft in a single session!
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[@MonarchsFactory]

Now this is the quality Halloween content we're looking for

[@ZipperonDisney]

Thanks Dael! ❤️

[@kalleendo7577]

I'm going to do it God help me I'm going to do it

[@ZipperonDisney]

Do it!

[@TreantmonksTemple]

There is always the option of running the 1e module with a 5e conversion as well. It would be a squeeze to fit into 4 hours, but can definitely be completed in one evening.

[@ZipperonDisney]

For sure!!

[@michellethomas6494]

Although this was geared towards running Ravenloft, it has some pretty good tips on running really robust sessions in a way that flows and keeps the pace moving. Which i really appreciated bc I am just about to run a session next week that Im honestly affraid is going to end up being two sessions.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Thanks Michelle! If you do end up running it, please let me know how it turns out - I love hearing gamers' stories!

[@MarkLewis...]

I don't care what anyone says... This is an AWESOME idea!!! Thanks for this!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad you like it! ❤️

[@thepopemichael]

I'd love to watch someone play though it this way.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Maybe someone will stream this on Twitch! That'd be cool!

[@DarkDjim]

This is a great idea. I also think it could be a great precursor to an actual Curse of Strahd campaign. If you previously emphasize the idea that this is a one-shot for them to experience Ravenloft and that, like other small RPGs, survival is most likely impossible (e.g. Dread), players won't mind dying for the effort. Only changes I would personally make would be substituting the Heart for an encounter with Strahd-allied Vistani instead (this way the Heart is still a surprise in the main campaign); take away the Sun Sword or have it still be a normal weapon that becomes the infamous one when the character holding it dies (so in the next campaign it becomes obvious why they didn't succeed); and also have the possibility of the characters making permanent damage to Strahd in some way that could carry over for the main campaign.

[@ZipperonDisney]

That's not a bad take at all!

[@DarkDjim]

@@ZipperonDisney helps that it can allow you to try different takes on Strahd and the world, seeing as how you can easily justify any changes as Strahd changing during the years in this private hell of his.

[@matthewjennings7645]

I actually remember that thread on Reddit! Glad you've kept pulling on the thread and shared it with us

[@ZipperonDisney]

Excellent!!

[@steverap8680]

I love the idea of doing this with my party during a one-shot night.... So a few months later when I run the campaign they would have remembered being one of the previous adventure parties

[@WarriorGaming4575]

Love to see a new Zipperon Disney video. I actually did this in my main campaign, and they REALLY loved it! We've never done much dungeon crawling, but I think they really appreciated it as a change of pace.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Thanks for the support ❤️

[@irishthump73]

Even if you don't run Ravenloft these are excellent tips on condensing an adventure. Time constraints can always be a problem so anything that helps always appreciated!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Very true!

[@MarkLewis...]

I DID IT!!!! I DID IT!!!! I wrote my own, Ravenloft one shot module to run for Halloween 🎃🧛‍♂️🦇! Thank you for your video and great idea!

[@ZipperonDisney]

EXCELLENT!

[@MarkLewis...]

@@ZipperonDisney UPDATE: After the last 2 weeks of crazy crafting, writing, and getting everything ready for my Halloween-special, Ravenloft one-shot... On Thursday night, (10/29/20) my players LOVED the castle, the cemetery, and all the sets I built for it all and really enjoyed playing my written 4 1/4 hour Ravenloft adventure and ideas!!! I would be in total error if I didn't thank you for all your hard work and initial idea to encourage everyone to do Ravenloft as a one-shot. So, on behalf of my crazy excited DnD group last night, but especially myself... "THANK YOU!" Happy Halloween!

[@stuartlaws9977]

This was amazing. DnD in a hurry!

[@Boncomics]

0:22 Shout-Out for the #Lovecraft anthology, broseph!

[@SuperheroWannabe]

Tarot card gag is also in Castle Amber but it's rudimentary compared to ravenloft. That's a good one to run as a one shot as well.

[@ZipperonDisney]

didn't know that! Thanks for sharing :)

[@stefanschuller3032]

Wonderful idea! I only got have of the content because of language barrier and very fast speaking :-), but what I got, inspired me, to give it a chance! Thank you!

[@iambecomejeff]

Using this as a One Shot within our long form campaign The PC's have to find a stone dragon heart located within "the minds eye", one PC has split personality disorder, created by the current villain. His internal mental state is "the minds eye". The current villain is going to delve into the PC's mind, and when/if the party follows after, they'll all find themselves awaking on the drawbridge of Castle Ravenloft. We finished Curse of Strahd a few months ago, but instead of going through the castle, the party joined strahd and fought Vampyr (in my game, the god who's cursed Strahd and trapped Barovia) so the castle is the ONE thing they never got to see/experience. I'm SO HYPE

[@ZipperonDisney]

This sounds SO COOL!

[@tamarayedlin4046]

Omg i love you thanks for doing this

[@ZipperonDisney]

My pleasure!

[@StarkMaximum]

I have a couple of questions specifically about the tarot readings at the beginning: 1. Do you do the tarot reading at the table, showing the players the results and telling them all the details, or do you do it before the session happens so you know all the secrets but they have to find out over the game? I like the idea of them not knowing about being reincarnations, but knowing what rooms to find the treasures in to give them a sense of direction. 2. Regarding Strahd taking over a player, handing them Strahd's statblock, and having them take over: Do you have them suddenly start roleplaying Strahd while you're acting as them? Or does all roleplay continue as normal, but now they know that their will is not their own? I have some new players in my group who are still getting used to 5e but I'm worried giving them the statblock to one of the most legendary villains in all of the Forgotten Realms and telling them "you're the boss fight now" will overwhelm them. I wonder if maybe that's just something I can work into the final conflict to give them a second angle to have to fight on.

[@ZipperonDisney]

I did the reading at the table on game night, but was very mysterious and coy about what it meant for the reincarnations and victim. For the artifacts and locations I was more explicit. The encounter where Strahd "took over" one of the characters happened just before our break, and when we were on break, I told that player the plan, and trusted that she would keep up the ruse. I think it would be OK for that player to keep using their own character sheet until the very last minute in the crypts. You could make a truncated stat block for Strahd to give to the player too, if that would be easier on a new player.

[@AgranakStudios]

Love it!!!

[@OhThatRobin]

James just uploaded a new Strahd one shot called Strahd in Space and it’s really fun

[@ZipperonDisney]

I'll be sure to check it out, thanks @Robin Deppa

[@GoShanePlays]

Planning to run the 1E version in 3 3-hour sessions. Will use some of these tips for sure

[@colclark87]

Loved DM'ing this setting. Best full adventure in 5e for all DM styles. I definitely want to run it again as a one-shot. My players died to Strahd in the end. I'm sure they would like revenge at some point!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Do it!!!

[@andyrobin7196]

Ive already run curse of strahd for my party but im thinking of doing this one shot for halloween anyway, hopefully it will be different enough

[@ZipperonDisney]

Traditionally, you can run it every year with different tarot readings

[@RaiderAvian]

A greenhorn to DMing, I have a player that would love to import a game character into Ravenloft to run the module. So far I see it, it is a cursed Fallen Aasimar bound to a sword, wielders of this blade are possessed and controlled by the player. I thought of including a utility NPC that acts as this supplier of vessels. Nothing gross like the vampire lord himself, but an odd import form Eberron, an artificer. Let me explain: The artificer is a smithing type and he was working on making warforged, or more like he only got as far as to make the bodies but nothing would bring his golem-like creation of wood and metal to life. The PC would obtain a body with the warforged shells (only benefiting from the lack of rest and food) and the possibility to get upgrades like wings and stronger armour. This offsets the high stats of the character the player wants without needing change the design of the character to reference. So, the player wants a powerful god killing maniac form league of legends (fans might know him) and I thought to limit how much power the character yields though what the current vessel holds. This not only introduces a new way of building a strong character (though is more like a fanmade one but sure) and a dynamic where the PC must protect the vessel lest it gets destroyed and the sword is lost to the mists as well as the artificer blacksmith or lose him the vampire lord who will notice a god killing maniac hell-bent on leaving Ravenloft. Any thoughts on this or has my mind clouded already?

[@ZipperonDisney]

I'm not quite following, but it sounds like you and your players have some strong ideas. Go for it!

[@RoronoaLeftyZoro]

Yup, running this for Halloween.

[@4saken404]

And what's great about one-shots is that.... failure IS an option. The baddie can win.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Excellent point!! Also, that is one of my favorite parts of running a Halloween game - betrayal is the ultimate horror!

[@navdhillon7912]

You sir have got yourself a new subscriber

[@ZipperonDisney]

Welcome aboard!

[@calvincotton1998]

Death House is one of the greatest adventures I've ever read. Ran it and everyone had a blast but it was one of the first times DMing and it took almost 8 hours!!! No clue how you could manage to run Ravenloft as a one shot. Great challenge and an admirable goal. My weakness as a DM is definitely being married to the material and losing track of time.

[@ZipperonDisney]

I run *very* fast paced games! Got a few vids on the subject worth checking out

[@MrMoshmuma]

Sounds brilliant for 1 or 2 sessions. Got to be tightly honed in your style though and have pcs who are open to the style of play. Really like it

[@ZipperonDisney]

Much appreciated!

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Interesting I would like to play this as a one shot

[@Jason-ji8ql]

There's a lot of merit to running the normal Castle similar to this too. The module as written has *a lot* going on. I honestly decided to cut most of what didn't feel necessary in the long run, because it just bogged down the whole experience. I'd say this is a pretty good alternative for just having fun with a Strahd session.

[@kafka6666]

I'm struggling a bit with how, mechanically, Strahd would actually switch with the character while preserving their agency somewhat. My first thought was that that encounter would happen on the ramparts, Strahd would push them off and then do the switch while they were down below somewhere. That one makes it slightly harder for the player to reintegrate themselves back into the group though. The other thought I had was that he casts darkness or some other spells to temporarily blind the group and do it right there, but that opens it up to his plan being foiled by counterspell or light or something. Also means he has to stash the real character in real time. Thoughts, suggestions?

[@ZipperonDisney]

If worse comes to worse, I think you can just use a bit of DM trickery. Just let the switch happen, then let the players guess how, and choose one of their guesses as the right answer. In my experience, the player who is now Strahd gets to have fun, so I don't think they would be opposed.

[@denvercoker4804]

The 1st and 2nd fortunes indicating which characters are the reincarnations, how do you manage that? Do you just turn over a 3 of clubs and "consult" your table to make it look like it matters but just pick a character at random? The same can be said for the 3rd fortune as well.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Something like that. I dealt out cards, and each card I assigned a fate to, I think.

[@iainsims4557]

I’m new to the channel and have watched through almost the entire catalogue I really would like access to gazetteer is there a way to get it since the kickstarter is already done

[@ZipperonDisney]

If you sign up here, you'll get all the updates, including when the book is available! ❤️❤️ mailchi.mp/019b044e6360/galdersgazetteer

[@bryannguyen7475]

Hi! New sub here from reddit! Question: I’m a little confused on how the strahd swap works for the player and me the dm, does the player play as strahd in the final fight? Wouldn’t that give away that a swap happened? Sorry I misunderstood! Great video!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Yes, the player gets to control in the final fight. And yes, it could give it away bit by bit: I think that's part of the fun, for the players to realize that something is off. Remember, if this is a one shot, the other players don't really know all that much about what the other character's abilities are. When I actually ran this, in the final fight, after they had killed Fake Strahd, I had the body revert to looking like the replaced character. *That* blew the mystery wide open and shocked the other players. I'll never forget the look on everyone's face when they turned to the Strahd player and realized what had happened! Great fun!

[@cponstott]

Is there a resource/guide for running this if I don't have the full Curse of Strahd module? I'm currently running a game where the characters are traveling to the Shadowfell and want to run the Castle Ravenloft as the final session for this chapter of the campaign.

[@ZipperonDisney]

I think you can get the original I6 Ravenloft pdf for just a few bucks

[@noahleach8440]

Hi, this video is awesome and just what i need for Halloween, but i'm a bit confused about the plot. Have i got it right that, the players need to defeat strahd before midnight otherwise turned into a ghost that jumps off a cliff, one of the party members are a reincarnation of Ireena and one of the players is a reincarnation of sergei, and one of the players strahd is going to try and replace. And the goal of strahd is to assume the role of a player, get the other strahd (fake one)to kill sergei's reincarnation(one of the players) and then the real strahd(who is in disguise) kills the fake strahd to gain the love of Ireena's reincarnation. That's what i got from the video, just wondering about anything i might've missed. Thanks in advance!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Sounds right!

[@noahleach8440]

@@ZipperonDisney Thanks a lot!

[@hithisisme6332]

Would you run this with a group of six people then? One for ireena, one for Sergei, one as the strahd surrogate and one for each of the fortunes? I've run sessions with five players but never with the ambition of it being a one-shot so I'm a little unsure if everyone will get their time to shine as the game goes on!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Totally doable! Maybe stretch it out a bit and add more encounters to add more opportunities for spotlight time

[@hithisisme6332]

@@ZipperonDisney thank you so much for your thoughts! This take is so cool and unique, I think I'll give it a try c:

[@trollpatsch.]

I was wondering something: are there typical places for DMs to share their adventures to get feedback? I originally wanted to ask if zipperon sometimes goes over designs from his patreons or something, but figured he probably has better things to do than that :P

[@daraflaherty245]

r/DMAcedemy has peopleconstantky putting out free adventures, from one-shots to entire campaigns

[@Wizardously]

Also r/DMDivulge is pretty good.

[@ZipperonDisney]

I'm actually trying to think of what I would do if I opened up a 2nd tier on my Patreon; thanks for the suggestion!

[@trollpatsch.]

@@ZipperonDisney would be awesome, I think!

[@MrBrauk]

@Zipperon Disney I am struggling to understand how the GM and PC role play after the switch. Keeping it a secret between the GM and the PC is a great idea, but how do you handle it from the switch up to the final encounter? How do you handle it at the final encounter? I see two options on how the PC and GM could play this out with one being more situational irony and the other being dramatic irony. With situational irony, the GM is still mechanically rolling and moving Strahd, but with the mind of the PC? Of course the player would still appear to be playing the same PC, but with the mind of Strahd. Dramatic irony would require player actually rolling/moving for Strahd. And the GM would likewise play the PC character. I am worried about the this one more, because it will be less of a surprise for the players, and they may even play around it. What are your suggestions?

[@ZipperonDisney]

I just told the player that their old character is mind controlled, and they are playing Strahd now. BUT Strahd magic'd himself to look like their old character. Only the one player knew what had happened, and that she was now secretly playing Strahd. The others had no idea, they just thought she was trying to get to the crypt in a hurry. At the final encounter, after the party had defeated Fake Strahd, I had the body revert back to looking like the PC. Then the entire table turned to look at the player, who had the best grin on her face.

[@Zr0din]

Where do I get the modified maps for this one night version of this castle?

[@ZipperonDisney]

Sadly I don't know if there is one

[@kalleendo7577]

What character level do you recommend?

[@ZipperonDisney]

I did 9th, but I buffed Strahd quite a bit. For a HARD game, I'd do 6th.

[@theworldbuilderslab4525]

What approximate level do you suggest?

[@ZipperonDisney]

I did 9th, but I buffed Strahd quite a bit. For a HARD game, I'd do 6th.

[@green_man8625]

Does anyone know the source for the thumbnail art?

[@ZipperonDisney]

Conceptopolis, from the D&D Dungeons & Tombs Young Adventurers Books

[@clydedisney6569]

Yo Zipperton, is your family from Tn. or Ky?

[@ZipperonDisney]

Ohio and West Virginia. Why is my Appalachia showing?

[@peterwhitcomb8315]

So can you publish/share the version you ran over on DrivethruRPG? Assuming you don't run into copyright issues.

[@ZipperonDisney]

DMs guild would be OK, but not drivethru. In the descrption, under the MyMiniFactory section, there is a link to a blog that sums up the vid 😁

[@1978butler]

@@ZipperonDisney got a 404 screen.

[@denvercoker4804]

@@ZipperonDisney I got a 404 screen as well. I would really like to understand the specifics of this like how to change the reading, etc. I'd love to do this as a 1 shot for Halloween

[@ZipperonDisney]

@@1978butler fixed it! www.myminifactory.com/blog/ravenloft-halloween-adventure-playing-dnd-classic-in-one-night

[@ZipperonDisney]

@@denvercoker4804 Fixed it! www.myminifactory.com/blog/ravenloft-halloween-adventure-playing-dnd-classic-in-one-night

[@RPGmodsFan]

The I6 Ravenloft Mod could be run as a one-shot if it is run more as a Railroad Adventure.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Did this vid make it sound feasible and fun?

[@RPGmodsFan]

@@ZipperonDisney Yes, your video did. You had good ideas on how to make the I6 Mod a one-shot.